


brother

by chaoticlywise



Series: moments in between [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Brotherly Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson, Dustin Henderson Needs a Hug, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Light Angst, Past Child Abuse, Protective Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington Needs a Hug, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:27:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23743804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoticlywise/pseuds/chaoticlywise
Summary: Most people don’t know about Dustin’s father.This is perfectly fine with him; he knows the man wasn’t father of the year when he was there and won’t pretend that he’d ever be now that he was gone.He was abusive.He doesn’t go around telling people that he used to be abused and that his mom was, too. Not everybody needs to know him like that, and that’s okay.He only tells Steve because of the flinching.Or:Dustin and Steve have a heart-to-heart about their shitty dads.
Relationships: Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson
Series: moments in between [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1710370
Comments: 10
Kudos: 173





	brother

Most people don’t know about Dustin’s father.

This is perfectly fine with him; he knows the man wasn’t father of the year when he was there and won’t pretend that he’d ever be now that he was gone. 

Dustin has distant memories sometimes, about a faceless man who pushed him around, called him a weirdo when they found out he had cleidocranial dysplasia, yelled and grabbed at his mom. And how, one day, he was just gone. But his mom was there, smiling at him with bruises around her wrists and tears gathered in her eyes. This is the first time he really sees her: strong, brave, kind.

His father was none of the things his mom was. Loud, abrasive, and controlling felt more like him.

He was abusive. (Dustin didn’t use that word; didn’t like how heavy it felt, didn’t like the pity it got him.)

So he doesn’t go around telling people that he used to be abused and that his mom was, too. Not everybody needs to know him like that, and that’s okay. 

He only tells Steve because of the flinching. 

oOo

Steve is, rather surprisingly, a very tactile person. He is always ruffling Dustin’s hair, or stealing the hat off his head, or leaving a heavy hand on his shoulder. He gives him loud high fives whenever it’s appropriate (and, sometimes, when it’s not), and punches his arm playfully. 

And it’s not that he isn’t used to getting attention, because he is, but he’s used to getting a different kind of it. 

His mom hugs him tightly or kisses him on the cheek. She’s gentle and treats him like he’s the most important thing in the world to her. The Party isn’t particularly touchy-feely, either, the closest he ever gets to a hug is a little roughhousing. Still, they treat him differently because they know. They treat him like he’s tough and like he’s a badass and they never baby him. (Dustin appreciates that far greater than they will ever know.)

And Steve is so different. (Fatherly, his brain supplies unhelpfully.)

But he’s never had a good relationship with his father and thinking of Steve like that leaves a bad taste in his brain that makes him nervous when the older teen’s around sometimes.

If Steve notices, he doesn’t say anything. If he thinks anything of it at all, he probably thinks it’s the aftershock of almost dying twice, two years in a row, while trying to save the world. 

But then it keeps happening and happening for months. Even Will is better at this point. So, what was the deal? 

Steve is tactile and, although he would never admit it, he’s emotional. He’s in touch with his feelings more now, after Nancy leaves. After Tommy H. and Carol. After his parents.

It’s a cold day in the February right after the demo-dog attack and it’s been spitting rain all day. Steve, instead of being warm and at home, is at the Henderson house under the guise of helping Dustin clean the storm shelter. What they were really doing, in fact, was trying to fill the hole d’Art had dug in the wall. They had procrastinated it for a while (almost 4 months now) and were only fixing it now because Claudia claimed it was gonna be tornado season soon and they might need the storm shelter.

So there they are, cleaning up spilt boxes, chunks of cement, and some of the skin d’Art had molted. Dustin can feel his back aching from the constant bending down and standing back up to assist Steve in cleaning out the room and, eventually, starting to build the wall up brick-by-brick. It’s clear that Steve’s struggling, too, because he keeps taking quick little breaks to stand against the wall and just breathe for a moment. 

Steve must notice how much they’re both struggling and claps a hand down on Dustin’s shoulder to ask if he’s ready for a break.

And Dustin doesn’t mean to flinch, he never does, but this one hits him like a damn train and flashes of the faceless man grabbing him by his shoulder and hauling him inside the house after being outside too long rushes to the forefront of his mind. His shoulder had been bruised for a week after that from the intensity of his father's grip. Dustin recoils hard, eyes flitting back to the teen, body tensing and ready to be grabbed and manhandled or hit.

And Steve, bless him, merely raises an eyebrow and takes his hand away. “C’mon,” Steve says softly. “Let’s go take a break.”

They jog up to the house and sit on the steps that lead to the front door. Claudia isn’t home so there’s no chance they’ll get caught trying to fix the storm shelter. They could go inside but the rain is soothing to listen to so they stay under the cover of the roof above to listen instead.

Steve hunches over himself and picks at the cuff of his sleeve and Dustin knows, he just knows, that Steve is about to say some dumb shit.

“Did you know my dad used to hit me?” Steve asks, his voice quieter than Dustin has ever heard it. And shit, that was not what Dustin was expecting. At all.

And it hits him then, that Steve knows. That he might have known longer than Dustin had thought and that, maybe, Steve was smarter than he let people on to believe.

And Steve was smart, Dustin knew, but it always seemed more… physical, in a way. When Steve was fighting the demogorgon or the demo-dogs, he wasn’t afraid, or he didn’t act like he was. He looked entirely in his element, swinging around a bat embedded with nails and attacking comic book-esque monsters. Steve never let them believe he was scared, yelling in the face of danger and protecting Dustin and his friends at the junkyard. There was a strategy to that, completely intentional: never let them know you’re afraid because they could, and most likely would, take advantage of that.

Dustin hadn’t thought Steve was scared at the time, until they came out of the broken down bus and he could see Steve’s hands shaking in the moonlight. It was eerie in a different kind of way. Not bone-chilling but it was shocking. This is the first time he really sees Steve, too: valiant, protective, sensible. 

Steve was smart; he knew what situations called for and wasn’t afraid to do something about it.

And, apparently, Steve thought now was a good time for an intervention. 

“Uh,” Dustin stutters. “I mean- well… no.”

“I didn’t want anyone to know when it was happening,” Steve says, still using that soft tone only this time, he seems a little withdrawn. “He hit me, pushed me… I got really beat up a few times.”

“What happened?” Dustin asks timidly.

“I got lucky,” Steve says then, turning his head to look Dustin in the eyes. “My basketball coach must’ve thought something was up and asked if I was being abused. Of course I told him no and obviously he didn’t believe me. So he gave me some advice, told me that the only person who could do something about it was me. So that night, I told my dad off and told him never to touch me again or I’d call the police.”

Dustin seems enraptured. “And after that?”

“He never hurt me again,” Steve answers. “He doesn’t hit me or anything but I never see him anymore anyway.”

“And your coach,” Dustin starts, looking down to his hands. “He was right?”

“In some ways, yes. But mostly, his advice was a load of horseshit. I wished I had someone to protect me, to tell me it was all gonna be okay, and punch that son of a bitch right in the teeth,” he says searching for something in Dustin’s eyes. “I didn’t have that person, but you do. And, Dustin, if something is happening or if someone is hurting you, I swear to God-”

“No! No, no,” Dustin exclaims, waving his hands around placatingly. Steve seems to relax a little at that and Dustin massages the bridge of his nose, feeling the oncoming headache from a mile away. “Jesus, no. Or… not anymore, I guess.”

This surprises Steve and his hands flex, first into fists and then straightening back out to rest on his knees. He clears his throat. “When? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I don’t mind,” Dustin says, realizing this is the first time he’s talked about his dad to someone who wasn’t his age. “I was little, 5 or 6 and my dad just- he wasn’t a good guy.”

“And he, what?” Steve asks. “He hit you?”

“Not me,” he says and Steve picks up on the unspoken ‘but he did hit mom’. “No, he just pushed me around some, kinda just grabbed me ‘n stuff.” Dustin says, refusing to make eye contact. “It wasn’t all that bad, especially with everything we’ve been through now. I don’t know why it still bothers me sometimes-”

“Don’t,” Steve interrupts. “Don’t do that to yourself.” 

They’re quiet for a minute after that, just listening to the rain softly hit the roof and ground but they both know it won’t last. “Did, uh,” Steve starts, gaining Dustin’s attention again. “What happened to him?”

“I dunno all the details exactly,” Dustin answers honestly, shrugging. “Mom kicked him out one night and he just… never came back. We stayed at the old house for a few months after but we didn’t have enough money coming in to stay, so we moved here.”

“Well,” Steve says, bumping shoulders with Dustin lightly. “I, for one, am glad you’re here.”

Dustin smiles. It’s not his full blown, bright and toothless one like usual but it's a start and that’s all anyone can ask.

“Thanks, Steve.”

“Anytime.”

And Dustin gets to see a little more of who Steve is that day: he’s not a father figure. He’s his brother.

**Author's Note:**

> So I got into a Stranger Things kick. And now I’ve written this bc I love them but I also love me some good whump/angst with a little fluff. 
> 
> Also, I decided this would be the to start of a series surrounding Dustin and Steve! There will be other characters in it too, but mostly these two dorks lol. It’ll basically be exploring what makes them so close. 
> 
> Anywho, I hope y’all enjoyed this! Comments and kudos are always appreciated! Have a lovely day!


End file.
